Thoughts, words, coffee and cake

3 books, 3 points: September 2017

September 30, 2017

3 books, 3 points

Reviewing 3 books in 3 bullet points

Reading is an escape from the hubbub of everyday life for me. When things get overwhelming, I ache to zone out and slip into another reality, drawn in through words and paper, sat in a comfy chair as time passes on by around me. Here are the books I’ve managed to read this month.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, by Natasha Pulley
– A really evocative novel with an air of magic about it. I was drawn into the story immediately and didn’t want to stop reading.
– The book peaked my curiosity and kept my attention the entire way though. I was intrigued by the backstory and the small pieces of information that wound their way into the tale as the book progressed.
– There wasn’t one bit of this story I didn’t enjoy. A tale with that air of something other, another level. The characters are deeply drawn, with their own human flaws but an indentifiability that brings understanding, if not always agreement.

Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari
– I love learning about early humans, so I was really looking forward to reading this, and it doesn’t disappoint! From the very first humans to the present day and beyond, the book tells of the history of the human race.
– The author doesn’t hold back in his description of Homo Sapiens. I learnt a lot about different species of humans co-existing on earth, about where our behaviours come from, about our treatment of other life, and how humans have managed to become such a successful species.
– Although the book is factual, it’s really easy to read and very engaging. It’s hard-hitting in an accessible way, prompting me to think about how society has become what it is today, and where we go from here. Excellent!

Order of Darkness, by Philippa Gregory (Trilogy: Changeling, Stormbringers, Fool’s Gold)
– Historical fiction is my guilty pleasure and I was tempted to read this trilogy by Philippa Gregory as it was something different than her popular Tudor series. I read the three books (so that’s 5 really this month!) one after the other, following the story of Luca and his companions as he travels on a mission across 15th century Europe.
– I found the books easy to read and enjoyable, which was what I was looking for after reading Sapiens, however they didn’t grab me as much as her Tudor books – I felt a little more depth was needed and some of the characters could have been explored further, especially across three books.
– I enjoyed the story as a whole, but felt a little let down once I’d finished the series – it sort of petered out at the end and left me with questions about events in the first and second books, and a few unfinished storylines. A good light read but I didn’t feel it was more than that, unfortunately.

Best of the 3: A really hard decision. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is excellent – but I think Sapiens just edged it for me this month. I found it enthralling and thought-provoking, and am already halfway through the follow-up, Homo Deus…

If you’ve read any of the books above, I’d love to hear what you thought! And of course I’d love any book recommendations 🙂 See you next month for more books!

Subscribe by email

Follow One Empty Shelf on Bloglovin’

Hi

About me

Hi everybody, I’m Sal – a 30-something blogger from the UK writing about slow living, nature, books and mental health, whilst attempting to stay uncluttered in a cluttered world…!
I love reading, thunderstorms, wild moorland, music of all forms, being a bit of a hippy, coffee, trees and all of the cake.
Welcome to my blog! Please get in touch (especially if you have cake recipes) by clicking here
I hope you enjoy reading my posts! 🙂 x